Soliman chooses Taylor over Golovkin for October bout

Phil Jay 13/08/2014

IBF middleweight champion Sam Soliman is to make the first defense of his title against former 160lb king Jermain Taylor on October 4 in the United States.

The 40 year-old, who took the belt from Felix Sturm in May, had been linked to all manner of opponents for his eagerly-awaited return, but as manager David Stanley stated, Soliman couldn’t turn down a match-up with the Little Rock boxer.

Taylor, 36, beat off competition from WBA and IBO champion Gennady Golovkin to seal his first world title fight in five years and will look to regain the title he first won in 2005 when defeating Bernard Hopkins.

“We came very close to fighting Gennady Golovkin, but this deal was too good to refuse,” Soliman’s manager David Stanley told ABC Australia.

‘Bad Intentions’ overcame Hopkins twice to cement his place as the pound for pound best at middleweight almost a decade ago, but after losing to Kelly Pavlik in 2007, has struggled to reach the heights his career previously hit.

The fight is still lacking a formalised venue, although the East Coast of America is said to be the frontrunner – with an undercard for the encounter still in the works.